Križanke, Ljubljana, 15th October 2024
»We will be forgotten. This is our fate.«
It is very difficult for a person to let go of their expectations. They are our beliefs about how something should be. Director Ivica Buljan’s 3 Sisters Remix crushes all the concerns of the audience to dust at the very beginning. It prepares them for something new, a remix of the play by Chekhov (even though one can say that everything in the world is an adaptation of something).
3 Sisters Remix was staged by Teater TIVOLI in connection with Festival Ljubljana in Križanke, a complex of the former monastery of the Teutonic Order from the 13th century. In the 1950s, they were renovated by the great Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik and today they are considered a cultural monument of national importance. The play takes place in several rooms, each carrying its own history and story. Just as the three sisters are diverse, so are the three spaces. The majority of the play takes place in the Knight’s Hall. The second room is the Hell’s Courtyard and the last performance space is the Križevniška Church.
Because the stories of the rooms in which the play takes place are so prominent, the staging is very eloquent despite the minimalist scenography. The Prozorov family lives in an unpromising hometown, one could also say that their landscape is desolate and quiet. The only living scenography are people (actors, spectators, characters in the drama). The spaciousness of the Russian courts is perfect for solitude. Despite the emptiness of the stage, the actors nevertheless fill it with the devoted yearning of the three sisters for the wider world (or, in their case, Moscow).
The opening scene is set during Irina’s 20th birthday party, which also happens to be the first anniversary of their father’s death. Thus, the first scene is a kind of clash of different opinions and ideas between the three sisters, their brother and the other character. Buljan has created a very dynamic performance, which creates the illusion of timelessness, because time transforms the lives of these people who are slowly sinking into themselves. There are also many arguments between the characters that help drive the performance forward. The action on stage is often plural, with several stories taking place at the same time in different parts of the playing space.
The audience’s attention is quickly drawn to the acrobatic scenes of Kaja Petrovič and Gal Oblak. Petrovič climbs on Oblak’s back several times and, in doing so, portray the relationship between Irina and baron Tuzenbach. Petrovič spins, turns and plays in all sorts of ways on his shoulders. These dynamics are echoed in the drama. She often does not know what she wants, and in the meantime he would do everything for her. Many other scenes are similarly well-executed in terms of movement, especially with their raw and brutal undertones (partying, dancing, fire). This gives us a good insight into the times themselves and the lives of the bourgeoisie in Russia in the 19th century.
The dynamics of the performance are also reflected on a linguistic level. Most of the time, the Slovenian language dominates, despite the fact that the performance was created by artists from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. So if we have a remix, it is also on a linguistic level. Among other things, there are many instances of modern and colloquial language, which deviates from the written text. The music of Igor Vićentić and Mirko Vičentić Polič also contributes to the dynamics of the piece. However, because the stage action is very intense, the music unfortunately does not come to the fore, it only acts as a part of the scenography. There is the potential for it to be used more intensively.
The production includes two interludes that establish a meta-theatrical space and offers the viewer a moment to reflect on what they have seen. Actor Lovro Zafred, who plays Vershinin, exits the play with his monologue, or rather he enters it. He talks about the character he is playing and refers to the staging of Three Sisters at the SNG Drama Ljubljana in 2013. This also raises the question of who these characters really are, whose lives we are watching? In the eyes of the three sisters, Vershinin is a kind of fresh wind that came from dreamy Moscow, and they are completely enchanted by him. Vershinin successfully takes on the already married sister Masha, portrayed by Saša Pavlin Stošić, who with her penetrating voice and charisma, strongly portrays a woman who despite an indifferent fate, fights for her ideals, perhaps the most actively.
3 Sisters Remix. Festival Ljubljana. Photos: Darja Štravs Tisu
The other interlude is performed by Jernej Markelj, who plays Solyony. However, this time, instead of reflection, it is a prediction of the upcoming duel. Then the situation changes. First, we move to the Hell’s Courtyard. There, with the moving scenes of Kaja Petrovič, the singing of Milena Vasić and the chill of the November evening, we glimpse the actual distance between the siblings and the spouses of Chekhov’s drama. Their intimate relationships are cold and without any real basis. Everyone huddles in their own cloak because their relationships do not warm them well enough.
The final part is set in Križevniška Church, with the actors dressed in white spacesuits, which are associated with something very clean, sterile or even immaculate. This fourth act is filled with departures and dismissals, but it also depicts a condemnation to a meaningless life. Despite the hopes of the characters, the last illusions about the sanctity of life are shattered by the duel of Solyony and Tuzenbach that leads to murder. The performers walk among the seated spectators and force eye contact. Our eyes present as at our most vulnerable, because they can tell the truth with just one look. Words are not needed.
The moment in which Olga Grad ascends to the pulpit with her monologue is also very vivid. Lights shine on the audience from all sides and the other players are still walking around. At that moment, everyone is transformed into brightly lit images that tell the story of life. The audience leaves the show with these images lingering in their memory.
By playing with space and time, the production addresses the ever-present questions of human futility, which ultimately only works as an illusion. It is a longing that must never be fulfilled, because otherwise it would be lost. But what is a person without a longing for a better life? As Olga says at the end: “Dear sisters, our life is not over yet. We will live! The band plays so cheerfully, so cheerfully, and I think that in a while we too will know why we live, why we suffer… If only we knew, if only we knew!”
Director: Ivica Buljan//Translation/arrangement/dramaturg: Manca Sevšek Majeršič// set designer: Lazar Bodroža// costume designer: Slavica Janoševič// composers: Igor Vićentić, Mirko Vićentić Polič// video author: Martin Draksler// lighting designer: Milan Golob,
Cast: Aleksandra Balmazović, Uroš Fürst, Olga Grad, Jernej Markelj, Gal Oblak, Saša Pavlin Stošić, Kaja Petrovič, Jožef Ropoša, Joakim Tasić, Milena Vasić, Lovro Zafred
For more information, visit: lubljanafestival.si
Nika Šoštarič is a master's student of dramaturgy and performing art. She is also a writer, playwright and a world traveler.
